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Sacramento—Today, Equality California announced its endorsement of Gavin Newsom for California Governor. Newsom is currently California’s Lieutenant Governor and previously served as the Mayor of San Francisco.

We were fortunate to have a number of strong allies with longtime records of strong support for LGBTQ equality and social justice. However, in this race, one candidate stood out and the choice was clear. Based on the historical significance of his actions to support marriage equality in California, his longstanding commitment to LGBTQ civil rights and social justice throughout his public service career, his greater understanding of the challenges that face the LGBTQ community and his commitment to solving these problems with innovative ideas, specific policy solutions, and funding, Equality California strongly endorses Gavin Newsom for Governor.

“Advancing civil rights and social justice for LGBTQ people is one of the defining priorities for Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom,” stated Rick Zbur, Executive Director of Equality California. “He not only stood up boldly and publicly for marriage equality when it was not supported by a majority of Californians and when doing so presented significant political risks, but he has continued to be one of our community’s most dedicated champions in the years since, always on the forefront of the fight to advance LGBTQ civil rights both within California and nationally.

In our endorsement process, Newsom stood out in his understanding of the challenges and priorities of the LGBTQ community, including the need to address the disparities in health and wellbeing faced by LGBTQ people, including: extremely high rates of homelessness, violence, depression, suicide, substance abuse, poverty, school drop out, bullying and lack of acceptance, and lower rates of health insurance coverage. He presented specific policy proposals to address these needs, which are aligned with Equality California’s organizational priorities and mission.

Although a number of candidates have been strong allies of our community, Newsom’s in-depth understanding and prioritization of our community’s needs, his specific policy proposals to address them, and demonstrable and continuous record fighting for LGBTQ civil rights and social justice makes him the clear choice for the LGBTQ community for California Governor in 2018.”

The California primary election will take place on June 5, 2018. California will elect a new Governor from among the top two primary candidates on November 6, 2018.

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Equality California is the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization. We bring the voices of LGBTQ people and allies to institutions of power in California and across the United States, striving to create a world that is healthy, just, and fully equal for all LGBTQ people. We advance civil rights and social justice by inspiring, advocating and mobilizing through an inclusive movement that works tirelessly on behalf of those we serve. www.eqca.org